


white winter hymnal

by swallowthewhale



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, that old only one room left at the inn trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 09:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13499188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swallowthewhale/pseuds/swallowthewhale
Summary: Cisco and Caitlin are driving home from a conference in a blizzard, but there's only one room left at the inn.





	white winter hymnal

**Author's Note:**

> For seasalted, who sadly doesn't seem to be around anymore, and a while ago requested a killervibe version of "They were trapped in a blizzard, a single vacancy at the motel with only one bed. What will happen between them?"
> 
> Title by Fleet Foxes. I highly recommend the Pentatonix cover.

Cisco waits in the car with his hands tucked under his armpits to warm them up. The heat is blasting, but the rush of cold air that had swept in when Caitlin opened the door had sucked most of the warmth out of his hands. This is the third motel that they’ve tried to get a room at, and after the second, Cisco had voted to stay in the car and keep it running until Caitlin found out if there was space.

His phone buzzes in the cup holder, and he pulls it out, squinting a little at the message from Caitlin.

_One room left. Queen bed. Should we take it?_

_Absolutely,_ Cisco texts back, then puts the car in park and starts pulling on his coat. 

He carries both their bags in through the blinding snow and stands in the doorway, stomping the snow off his shoes as he looks around. It’s a small, but quaint, bed and breakfast, with an old-fashioned look that Cisco secretly kind of likes.

“Hey,” Caitlin says, offering him a key. “Thanks for bringing my bag.”

Cisco makes a face at her. “I wasn’t going to make you go back out to get it,” he says. “Can we go up? I seriously need a hot shower.”

“Yeah,” Caitlin says, taking her bag from him. “We’re on the second floor.”

Cisco follows Caitlin up the narrow stairs, feeling only slightly bad that they’re leaving puddles of melted snow in their wake. Caitlin stops halfway down the hallway on the second floor and carefully fits her key into the lock.

A four poster bed sits in the center of the room, complete with velvet curtains. “Man,” Cisco says, brushing his hand across the bed. “I feel like I’m at Hogwarts.”

Caitlin rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Do you mind if I use the bathroom first?”

Cisco waves a yes, too busy examining the ornate trunk at the foot of the bed. Once he’s done looking through the room, he drapes his wet jacket and hat onto a hook on the wall and starts sorting through his bag for his pajamas and toothbrush.

The water in the bathroom shuts off and Cisco leans against the wall opposite the bathroom door. Caitlin appears in leggings and one of the many t-shirts she’s stolen from Cisco, her hair braided over her shoulder and her face scrubbed clean. Cisco tries very hard not to look at her long legs or the shadow of her breasts against the thin shirt.

“I was wondering where that shirt got to,” Cisco teases.

Caitlin flushes. “You never wore it,” she says primly, and turns on her heel to fold her wet pants over the radiator.

“Uh-huh,” Cisco mutters, but shuts the bathroom door firmly behind him and thumps his head gently against the door.

“You still showering?” Caitlin calls.

“Yeah,” Cisco says. “You can go to sleep if you want, though.”

Caitlin doesn’t answer, so Cisco turns the water on as hot as possible. A cold shower would be better to get rid of those stupid thoughts that always pop up when he spends a lot of time uninterrupted with Caitlin, but scalding works well too.

Caitlin is sitting in the bed when Cisco gets out of the bathroom, her tablet propped on her knees.

“Are you working?” Cisco teases.

Caitlin scowls at him. “No,” she says, in the tone that absolutely means yes.

“No more work,” Cisco says. “We’ve been driving for an hour in a blizzard after a seven hour conference. It’s bedtime.”

“Don’t act like I’m the only workaholic here,” Caitlin says stiffly, but her eyes are lively, and Cisco hits her gently with a spare pillow.

“Scoot over, you’re hogging the bed,” Cisco says.

Caitlin gasps indignantly. “I am not!”

“You always do,” Cisco says, nudging her with his hip. “Ronnie was just too nice to tell you.”

“Ronnie snored,” Caitlin says. “And _you_ steal all the sheets, so I don’t feel too bad.”

Cisco laughs and leans against the headboard, holding his arm out so Caitlin can lean into his side. “You okay?”

Caitlin sighs. “It was hard, but we got through it.” She pauses. “I don’t think I would have made it through without you there.”

“That’s why I went,” Cisco says. “And also because Dr. Wells told me I was going.”

Caitlin giggles, then sobers. “At least we’ll never have to do the first conference after the accelerator explosion again.”

“It’ll be easier next time,” Cisco agrees.

“How long do you think it’ll be until we’re even invited to another?

Cisco shrugs. “I wouldn’t mind if it took another year. I hate these things.”

Caitlin jabs him with her elbow. “That’s because you don’t like wearing a suit, not because you don’t like ogling all the new engineering projects people are working on.”

“Did anyone say anything to you?” Cisco asks quietly. “About the explosion?”

“Just condolences,” Caitlin says, turning her face into his chest. “I think I would have preferred they didn’t say anything, though.”

Cisco tightens his arm over her shoulder in a sideways hug for a moment before pulling it away. “Let’s get some sleep,” he says. “I’m exhausted.”

Cisco wakes with a start, jolting upright, when someone screams. Beside him, Caitlin is thrashing and moaning, the covers kicked down to the bottom of the bed, and her t-shirt rucked up around her ribs. Cisco blinks aside the thickness in his head and gently grips Caitlin’s arms, holding them down firmly against the bed. She goes limp, but is still whimpering, face wet with tears.

“Caitlin," he says, releasing an arm to push her hair off her face. “You’re just dreaming, it's just a dream. Everything's okay.” He keeps up a steady stream of reassurances, rubbing circles on her wrist, until Caitlin blinks.

Cisco sits back on his heels, slowly pulling his hand back until Caitlin catches it in her own. “Cisco?" she asks groggily.

“Hey, hi,” Cisco says, squeezing her hand. “I’m here.”

Caitlin pushes herself upright, quickly tugging her shirt back down over her stomach. Cisco tries not to stare. “I had a nightmare,” she says slowly.

“Yeah.” Cisco scoots closer and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Do you remember it?"

Caitlin blinks at him owlishly . “I- it was mostly about the explosion.”

Cisco drops his hand from her face. “Ronnie?”

She shakes her head, looks out the window. “You,” she says and Cisco’s heart slams against his ribs. "You took Ronnie's place." Her hand clamps down on his and her voice wavers. “You died.”

“No, no,” Cisco says, a little too frantically. “I’m right here. Okay? I'm fine, we're both fine.”

She turns watery eyes back on him, and when she blinks, a tear escapes down her cheek. "Yeah," she breathes. "We're both fine.”

Cisco wipes her cheek with his thumb, his fingers lingering there. “Cait-”

“The answer’s no, Cisco,” Caitlin says more steadily. "I don’t wish it was you instead of Ronnie. Never.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask,” he protests

“But it’s what you were thinking,” Caitlin says. “I have no way of knowing what it would have been like, if Ronnie was here instead of you, but I don’t wish for that. I wouldn’t replace you with anyone else.”

Cisco sighs. He maybe had been thinking that. “Not even Ronnie?”

“No,” Caitlin says firmly. “Not even Ronnie.”

In the morning, Cisco will think it was a dream. A terribly wonderful dream where the moon reflected off the snow and illuminated Caitlin’s pale, tear-stained face, and Cisco couldn't resist leaning forward and kissing her. She gasps into his mouth, and he slides a hand into her hair as she fists her hands into his shirt to pull him closer. It was a beautiful dream, but Cisco is sure it didn’t really happen, because he’s had lots of dreams like that before.

Cisco lays in bed, committing the dream to his memory, as well as the way the early morning sun illuminates Caitlin from behind, curled on her side facing him with her hands under her cheek and the light turning her hair gold. It’s dangerous, Cisco knows, seeing her like this, letting his feelings simmer so close to the surface when she's there and so pretty and so out of reach. 

Cisco has learned that being secretly in love with your best friend requires a lot of strength. He's just not sure he has enough.

Caitlin stirs eventually, smiles at him before her eyes are even completely open.

“Morning," Cisco says quietly.

“Hi,” Caitlin says, reaching out to slide her hand in his. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah,” Cisco lies. "Did you?”

Caitlin hums, looking at him from under hooded eyes. "After the nightmare, yes."

Cisco’s heart stops. That was real? What else was real?

Her smile falters a bit. “Cisco?”

“Sorry,” Cisco says. “It all feels kind of like a dream. I wasn’t sure it actually happened.”

Caitlin tries to pull her hand away. ”It happened. Sorry for waking you up.”

“Hey, no,” Cisco says, holding onto her hand tightly. “I’m here for you. Anything you need. You know that.”

“Being woken up by me screaming in the middle of the night wasn’t part of the agreement,” Caitlin says, aiming for dry but ending up more timid.

“Yes, it was,” Cisco says. “Anything definitely includes nightmares." He hesitates. "Do you have them a lot?”

She half-shrugs. “Not as much, but sometimes. You?”

“Not too often,” Cisco says, deciding to leave out that his dreams have lately been way more realistic than they ever were before.

“About the… other thing that happened," Caitlin hedges, gaze now fixed on the wall above his head. “We don't have to talk about it if you don’t want.”

Cisco’s mouth goes dry and he lets Caitlin’s hand slip out of his. “We probably should.” He sits up and stretches his legs out in front of him, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.

Caitlin pushes herself up slowly and turns to sit cross-legged facing him. “We kissed,” she says.

“Did- I know you still miss Ronnie," Cisco says. "If it's too soon, or if you, um, don’t feel that way about me, I understand.”

“I do still miss Ronnie,” Caitlin says carefully. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be interested in someone else.”

Cisco glances up at her.

Caitlin shoots him a tight smile. “I’ve been talking to my therapist about it. Dating again.”

“What do you think?” Cisco says.

"I’m ready,” Caitlin says. “I know I’m ready. It’s more about who I want to date.”

Cisco wants to tell her to just spit it out, get it over with, because she's torturing him by drawing it out, but Caitlin would just shut down, so he waits for her to get to the point.

“I’ve probably known for a while, I just didn’t think you felt the same way,” Caitlin says absently, chewing on her lip, still staring off in the distance. Cisco can barely breathe. “I was kind of working up to it; it would have been awful if I told you and it ruined our friendship. You’re basically the only friend I have left.”

“Cait-” Cisco says roughly. “You’re killing me here.”

She looks at him in surprise, then smiles crookedly, a teasing glint in her eye. “Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"I would very much appreciate that,” Cisco says.

“It’s you," Caitlin says simply.

Cisco takes a deep breath, the constriction in his chest finally receding. He reaches out and frames her face with his hands. “Does that mean I can kiss you again?”

Caitlin grins and scoots closer so she’s practically sitting on him. “Absolutely."


End file.
